Turkey (Part II) - The Blue Voyage (6/8/08)

The Sunday after the wedding we had brunch at Onur's parents' summer home in Çeşme and then drove south along the coast to Fethiye. Askin and I actually drove separately in his car, while the rest of the crew took a minibus. It took us about 5 hours (and the minibus much longer) but the first sight of our chartered yachts made it all worthwhile. Let's just say the Duramaz and the Kayhan exceeded everyone's expectations...by far. The 6 cabin yachts were a whopping 100ft long with private bathroom, AC, TV, DVD, music system and refrigerator in each room. They had a back deck with a breakfast table and lounging area, an indoor table and kitchen with TV, a front deck with a dinner table, card table and plenty of space to hang out. And, the best part of all... the two-tiered top deck with enough cushions for everyone on board to sunbath. We also had an amazing crew of four guys who waited on our every need including pouring the shots when the time was right! Umm, yeah. Jay-Z and Beyonce ain't got nuthin on our big pimpin! Check out Alesta Yachting's website for more information. We left the dock right as the sun was setting which made for an amazing start to the trip. After that we ate the first of many delicious meals and played card games (choncho!) for a few hours before calling it a night.

I'm going to spare you the details of the six days that followed and simply summarize as follows:

--Morning: eat [breakfast = eggs, white cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, nutella]
--Afternoon: sunbath, swim, snorkel, kayak, nap, the occasional excursion, drink, card games/backgammon, dance, eat [lunch = fresh salad, yogurt, eggplant, pasta and/or meat; snack = cookies, nuts, nutella, tea, coffee]
--Evening: nap, shower, drink, card games, eat [dinner = fish/meat, fresh salad, yogurt, eggplant, MAGNUMS!, Turkish coffee]
--Night: drink, play games, dance, be silly, sleep

As for the major high and low lights:
--Getting a full beer can bounced off my head
--Onur falling in the water one night while trying to go from one boat to the other
--Karel going to bed immediately after dinner every night
--Erick Morillo dance party on the top of the yacht
--Onur passing out while cuddling Ms. Molly
--Another "spank" heard round the world
--Paragliding off a 2,000 meter peak
--O-nur, O-nur, O-nur, O-nur... Ooooo-nur, O-nur! Chris-sy, Chris-sy, Chris-sy, Chris-sy... Chris-sy, Chris-sy!
--Sangria in the sea
--Maks crying about his LENSES right before he was about to get tossed in the water
--Double Chocolate Magnums!
--Chrissy's silk worm dance move
--Choncho! Uno! Wwah Waaah!
--Megan's last night hook-up with one of the crew members

We begrudgingly got off the boat Saturday morning around 10am and spent some time chilling in Fethiye and eating one last monstrosity of a meal at the fish market. Then we hopped a flight back to Istanbul, showered, ate another meal and then all met back up at Selim's apartment to have a few cocktails and listen to some tunes. A few of us ventured out for a nightcap but the only thing of note that happened was Sinem stopping our cab home very suddenly in favor of a late night intestine sandwich snack (the Istanbul version of the NYC pizza slice). And I must say, it was quite tasty! Sunday morning came quick and so I sad my final goodbyes before making the long journey back to New York by way of Frankfurt. Until next time, my friends!

Photo credits: Shirley, Eileen